External directors are causing chaos at Association for Teaching English in Malawi (Atem) drama competitions as Southern Region competition head judge Blessings Kandulu observed during Southern Region Atem competition that was held at Mulunguzi Secondary school on Sunday.
“Most of the external directors did not follow the rules of the competition but because of their experience in the mainstream theatre industry, they felt they have done better than everyone,” said Kandulu.
He said the guidelines of the competition are silent on hiring directors for the competition but expressed his opinion that there is need to review the eligibility of directors for the competition.
“We make sure that the plays are up to date with the status quo and are relevant with the time. English fluency and creativity are some of the things that we seek from the winners,” said Kandulu.
During the competition, Stella Maris came out victorious with their play The Victims amassing 85 points. There was stiff competition on the top spot as the runner-ups, Blantyre Secondary School lost fell short from victory with a point with their play Just After Three Days. Chisapi private secondary School took the third spot gathering 74.6 with their play Burying Malipose.
Albert Kutemba Mwale the Best Male actor walked away with
K5 000 (about $12.50) and bag all courtesy of Multichoice Malawi. Sithembire Soko emerged Best Female actor and walked away with an umbrella and K5 000 courtesy of Multichoice.
